


Milky Way

by Junchenny



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Comedy, Fluff, Friendship, M/M, Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-05-04
Updated: 2017-08-30
Packaged: 2018-10-28 00:34:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 14,148
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10820019
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Junchenny/pseuds/Junchenny
Summary: Junmyeon was looking for a cup of coffee, and Jongdae was looking for a new employee. When their paths cross, what seems like fate turns into fiasco, and it doesn't help that Chanyeol's puppy is always peeing everywhere. The Milky Way just got a whole lot more interesting...





	1. The Announcement

_Fear._

_Anxiety._

_Restlessness._

Those were the emotions one young college sophomore was experiencing at the moment, his hairs standing on end and his heart in his throat. 

With his fringe getting damp from the beads of perspiration forming on his forehead, the young man tried to gulp down his anxiety as his eyes focused on what was in front of him. His chest felt constricted, like there was a fist clenching his heart, and even his shoulders started heaving from his heavy breathing. With every passing moment, he dared not to even blink, trying his best to ignore the stinging sensation in his eyes as they started to water.

_Just a bit more…._

_3._

_2._

_1._  

 _Ding!_  

“YES!” 

The young man threw his hands up over his head as he exclaimed with joy, pumping his fists in the air. His smile was so wide one would think his face was going to rip in half. If any other grown man were to squeal the way he did just then, they would have come across slightly peculiar to say the least. Yet for some reason, it seemed perfectly natural when this man did.

“Oi, Kim Jongin, are you going to just hold the victory pose or are you going to actually take out the soufflés at any point?” 

Jongin glanced at his boss who was standing behind him, his arms folded and a fond smirk on his face. Turning back, he quickly but carefully opened the oven and brought out his perfectly-risen soufflés, a certain look in his eyes which was akin to how a mother would look at her newborn for the first time.

“Woooow! Ah these look great! Good job!” 

Jongin could not stop smiling as he carefully set down the tray on the table and served the soufflés to his 2 customers who were now seated and waiting eagerly.

“Wait, what’s the flavor again?”

“Chocolate raspberry with a hint of mint.”

Jongin giggled softly to himself at how he rhymed, making his colleague who had asked the question shake his head in amusement.

As Jongdae and Minseok delved into the soufflés, Jongin held his breath. Having them rise perfectly was one thing, but that was no guarantee that they were going to taste alright.

_What if he had overdone the richness?_

_What if he had used too many raspberries?_

_What if-_

“Oh. My. _God_.”

  _Oh no._

_This was it._

_This was how it all ended._

 Now he’d have to go back to that horrible cashier job he had in the mart down the street where the manager would tell the most awful jokes and start crying if no one laughed.

 Just as Jongin let out his breath and dropped his head, Jongdae jumped up and threw his arms around Jongin.

 “This is it! You did it! This is perfect!”

 Jongins’ eyes bulged out of his head as he watched Minseok devour the soufflé like it was the last thing he was ever going to eat.

 “You guys…you guys like it?”

 Jongdae stepped back, his cheeks making his eyes crinkle into crescents as he laughed and slapped Jongin on the shoulder.

 “It’s the best soufflé I’ve ever tasted! This is amazing Jongin, thank you so much. Oh man, this is going to bring in so many customers!”

 Jongin’s grin returned and he let out a sigh of relief, feeling as if a mountain was just taken off his shoulders.

 To know that his soufflé, a recipe of his own, lived up to Jongdae and Minseok’s expectations made Jongin giddy with joy. After all, all Jongin ever cared about was not letting them down and doing his best for Milky Way.

 “You, my man, deserve a raise.”

 And that.

 It was safe to say that was something he probably cared about too.

 Jongdae licked his ramekin clean, upset that the God-sent soufflé was over. Still, he was so grateful for Jongin. When Jongin first applied to Milky Way, Jongdae wasn’t too sure whether he could trust a college kid to be good enough to work at his beloved coffee shop. But despite being young and inexperienced, Jongin showed a burning passion for doing his best in whatever task he was given. Jongdae knew he would have to be a fool to turn him away.

 And he didn’t regret that decision ever since. 

“Hey guys.”

The trio turned to the door where 2 familiar faces walked in, holding hands.

“Oh hey, wow, what is this?”

All 3 men walked towards the couple at the same time, but each with a different expression.

Jongin was looking at the clasped hands and smiling fondly. 

Minseok had his mouth open and was staring in disbelief at the owner of one of the hands. 

Jongdae… well he was just smirking and waggling his eyebrows after he had made that comment, like the annoying friend he was.

“Shut up.”

 Kyungsoo looked pained to be facing his 3 friends, whereas Chanyeol had his usual huge Cheshire grin which made him look like a big dumb puppy.

 “Chanyeol and I…we um…we have an announcement.”

 “Oh god, you’re pregnant?”

 Minseok and Chanyeol laughed at Jongdae’s remark, whereas Kyungsoo just rolled his eyes.

  _(And Jongin was looking confused but then again what was new?)_

 “We’re getting married!”

 Jongin, Minseok and Jongdae collectively screamed once Chanyeol shouted those 3 words, with all 3 pouncing on the couple and embracing them.

“Congratulations!”

 “Oh my god!”

 “I think I’m going to cry!”

 “I knew this was going to happen soon!”

 “Can I be the best man?”

 The exclamations and questions and hugging continued for some time before Kyungsoo visibly stiffened up, making everyone else go quiet with confusion.

 “What’s wrong?”

 “Um, there’s something else. With us getting married and all, there’s wedding planning and we’ll also be moving into a new house and now we have Toben to look after as well and…”

 Kyungsoo looked down, rubbing the back of his neck. Jongdae was puzzled for a moment, but then it clicked and he gulped.

 “And…”

 “And, I won’t be able to continue working here.”

  _Fuck._

 It felt like someone had just rammed their fist into Jongdae’s gut.

 “Of course I’ll try my best to help out and stuff, I’ll come by whenever I can. But on top of my office job, I just won’t be able to manage both.”

 Jongdae went silent and stared at a black mark on the polished wooden floor, his lips pursed as he refused to meet his most valued employee’s eyes.

 “Jongdae?”

 “Jongin, Minseok, me and you. We’re all Milky Way has.”

 “I’m really sorry. Look, it’s just for these few months leading up to the wedding. Like I said, I’ll still try to help out as much as I can, but I just can’t keep up 2 jobs right now.”  

 Finally, Jongdae looked back up with his jaw clenched. Minseok and Jongin were silent, watching him closely while Chanyeol was gnawing on his lower lip and looking between his fiancé and his fiancé’s boss.

 “I understand.”

 Jongdae took in a deep breath and forced a smile, trying his best to appear convincing though the hurt was still clear in his eyes.

 Kyungsoo was the glue that held the place together. With his excellent management and barista skills, he was a blessing to Milky Way. He had been by Jongdae’s side ever since Milky Way was set up. And not only was he Jongdae’s employee, he was his best friend.

 

* * *

_[4 years ago]_

_“What if people don’t like us? There’s so many amazing cafes in Yeouido, what if we’re not good enough?”_

_“Jongdae.”_

_Kyungsoo clasped his nervous friend’s shoulder, looking him right in the eye with a soft smile._

_“Calm down. People will love it because you love it. You put your all into this café, I’ve never seen someone as passionate as you. I know this is going to be a success, and I’m going to be right here with you. We got this.”_

_Jongdae sighed, seeking comfort in his best friend’s encouraging gaze. Biting his lip, Jongdae glanced behind Kyungsoo, noticing the line of eager patrons waiting to try out the new quaint little café that was having a special promotion on its opening day. Food bloggers, hipsters, couples, teenagers… all sorts were there._

_Waiting to try._

_Waiting to judge._

_Kyungsoo squeezed Jongdae’s shoulder again and nodded affirmatively._

_“Ready?”_

_Taking in a deep breath, the young college drop-out who had put everything on the line for this one dream nodded and smiled, ever so thankful that he wasn’t alone._

 

* * *

 

“This is good news, and I’m genuinely happy for you and Chanyeol. Of course, it’s going to be hard managing without you. But…I understand. And when or if you choose to come back, my doors will always be open.”

Kyungsoo smiled and let go of Chanyeol’s hand, taking a step forward and pulling Jongdae into his arms.

“It’ll be fine. This is just temporary. I’m sure you’ll find someone who can take my place just for a while. How bad could things go anyway?”

 

 


	2. A Cup of Coffee

“So just one regular iced vanilla latte with soy milk and no cream. Right, is that all?”

“Yup, that will be all.” 

Minseok nodded, punching in the order and generating the receipt for the customer in front of him. 

“Please wait at the side as your drink is being prepared.” 

The lady, dressed in a long white dress with crimson red lips and hair high in a bun, flashed a pearly smile at him in return and nodded, walking over to wait by the pick-up counter next to the coffee machines. 

Minseok passed the order to Jongin and watched as the lady practically undressed the young college student with her eyes, watching his every move closely and longingly. Jongin, of course, was oblivious to this. 

Minseok didn’t blame her though, it was no uncommon sight to see girls ogling at Jongin while he prepared their drinks. In fact, Minseok was pretty sure half their customers came just to see him. 

 _Not that their shop wasn’t good enough by itself to attract customers._  

 _But Jongin was just really hot._  

“Here’s your soy milk latte.” 

Jongin smiled warmly and passed the eager lady her drink, which made her blush and grin coyly, looking up at him through her lashes. 

“Thank you! Wow that was really fast. You have _skilled_ hands, I must say.” 

“Oh, thank you, I try my best to be efficient.” Jongin chuckled back in response, his eyes crinkling from his wide, genuine smile. 

 _‘Aw, bless him’, Minseok thought._  

“I have some pretty _skilled_ hands too. I can show them what they do if you want.” The lady replied, batting her eyelashes and biting her lip.

Minseok had to stop himself from rolling his eyes at her blatant and rather pathetic attempts of flirting, with the word ‘skilled’ dripping with crass seduction. Then again, he wasn’t really surprised since this was someone who had asked him how much percent of fat their soy milk had, and then proceeded to ask for a gluten-free vegan brownie which, of course, they didn’t have.

_Gluten-free??_

_Vegan???_  

Even the notion made Minseok shudder.

“Oh really? Are you a barista too, Noona?”

“Mpfkkk!”

The 2 turned to an embarrassed Minseok who tried his best to look like he had not just stifled a laugh.

Seductress Soomi _(as Minseok decided to name her)_ looked indignant and displeased to say the least, grimacing at Jongin who was just blinking innocently back, wondering why she was glaring at him.

“Noona? Excuse me, but I’m probably younger than you. What kind of disrespect is this?” 

Jongin frowned and immediately got flustered, shaking his head and hands vigorously. 

“Oh no no! Oh I’m so sorry I didn’t mean it like that. You just, you look close to my sister’s age and she’s older so I just assumed-“ 

“What my friend here meant to say is…” 

Jongdae, who had emerged from the office to see the scene unfold in time, grabbed Jongin's shoulders from behind, chuckling with what Minseok recognized as his “fake business laugh”. 

“You have the elegance and sophisticated appeal of a more mature woman; a compliment I assure you. Besides, Jongin here is really young so it’s just natural for him to say things like that.” 

Seductress Soomi pursed her lips as she judged Jongdae and his attempt to save the young barista. Jongin was still pouting, his eyes pleading sorry and his hands folded in front of him. 

_Ah yes, the puppy-dog eyes that no mortal could resist._

“I see, well, fine. You’re forgiven. Next time don’t go around assuming people’s ages!” 

With that and a whip-on of her designer shades, Seductress Soomi strutted out of the shop, making all 3 exhale in relief at the same time.

“Oh my, Hyung I’m so sorry, I know you always say never upset the customers and I-“

“Jongin! It’s okay, it’s not your fault. In fact, you were being too nice with Noona, Ajumoni would’ve probably fit her better.”

Minseok nudged Jongdae disapprovingly though all 3 laughed at his comment.

With Seductress Soomi being the last customer, Jongdae glanced down at his watch and clapped his hands. 

“Alright, it’s 6, let’s close up!”

It was a really tiring day, with the summer holidays having just arrived, that meant the coffee shop was even busier than usual. And with Kyungsoo absent, it meant more work for the rest. It had only been three days, but Jongdae was already starting to feel the pressure to find a new barista ASAP.

He glanced over at Jongin and Minseok, who had started wiping down the counter surface and tables respectively with haggard looks on their faces.

“I’m sorry you have to work even more. I’ll put up more ads and ask around some more to find a barista soon, I promise.”

Jongin, despite his exhaustion, still smiled and shook his head.

“It’s alright, I enjoy making drinks. Plus, I love the challenge. Don’t worry about it.”

“Yeah it’s fine, we’re fine.” Minseok added.

Jongdae sighed and rubbed the back of his neck, on one hand grateful for how sweet his employees were, but also wondering how on earth he was going to find a replacement for Kyungsoo.

Despite both online and street posters advertising an open barista position, no one had applied yet. Minseok had tried to assure him by claiming that it would just take time for people to discover the job opening and apply, but Jongdae wasn’t too sure about that.

He was sure it probably had to do with the fact that he wasn’t exactly offering the best pay rates in Hongdae. Despite being a popular café, it was still relatively young and Jongdae still had a huge loan to repay, meaning he could not afford to offer luxurious wages, unlike a lot of other cafes around him.

Suddenly, there was footsteps outside the café, followed by the sound of the bell hanging next to it which signalled the door being opened.

“I’m so sorry but we’re closing now.” Jongdae said as he turned around, only to find the most beautiful man standing at the entrance.

“Oh? Oh I’m so sorry I didn’t see the opening times. I just wanted a cup of coffee anyway but I’ll just-“

“Oh no it’s alright actually I’m sure we can just get you that coffee, it’s only a few minutes past closing anyway.”

_What the fuck._

It was like Jongdae’s mouth had gotten a mind of its own, making Jongin and Minseok also look at him in bewilderment.

_But fuck him, this man was gorgeous._

With milky skin, peachy cheeks and brown hair neatly slicked up, he looked like he had just stepped out of a high-fashion magazine cover.

It was also probably the fact that the young man looked incredibly tired and sad as well. Jongdae recognized that look, and knew what he needed right now was just a nice hot cup of coffee.

“So, what would you like?”

The young man appeared slightly confused at how Jongdae was suddenly accommodating him, but nonetheless followed behind him to the counter and looked up at the menu.

“Just a small espresso with extra milk.”

As Jongdae entered the order, he noticed from the corner of his eye Jongin return to the machine and grab a cup.

“Hey Jongin, it’s alright you’ve worked a lot today, I’ll make his order."

“Oh it’s fine Hyung I can-“

“No Jongin it’s alright let me do it. Anyway that will be 5000 won.”

The stranger paid him the cash with a soft half smile, making Jongdae’s chest constrict a bit.

It was a sad smile, but it was a smile nonetheless that was still charming.

Jongin continued looking confused for a moment but then shrugged and went back to clearing up the rest of the workspace.

Jongdae threw on an apron quickly to make the espresso, glancing up to find the sad customer take a seat at a table with his hands folded in front of him, just staring into space.

Finally, Jongdae walked over with the drink and placed it in front of him.

“Here you go.”

The young man smiled again and nodded in thanks, but the sadness was still there in his eyes.

Jongdae couldn’t help himself.

“You look like you had a shit day.”

The stranger looked up at him in surprise for a second at his comment, but then sighed and nodded.

“Really, _really_ shit day.”

He then took a sip of coffee and hummed in satisfaction as it went down his throat.

“This is so good, I really needed this. Thank you so much.”

“No problem, I’m glad I could make you feel better even if just a bit.”

Jongdae tucked his hands into the pockets of his apron and smiled fondly at the man who was relishing the warmth of the coffee.

 _Fuck_.

Catching himself, he quickly turned around and went behind the counter, pretending to arrange some things at the till. Minseok was besides him and nudged him with a smirk, making Jongdae glare at him, not appreciating the teasing look.

_But the teasing wasn’t unfounded._

There was no doubt Jongdae was attracted to this man. He was handsome beyond imagination and had a certain sophisticated charm to him.

But it was more than just that.

It was the butterflies he got in his stomach when the man smiled softly at the taste of the drink, and how he looked at him with genuine, gentle eyes when he thanked him.

Jongdae didn’t exactly know what this was or why he was feeling this way, but he had a sneaky suspicious it was love at first sight.

“Excuse me?"

Jongdae looked up, previously focusing intently on reviewing the digital cash register so that he wasn’t caught staring, to find the man in question right in front of him smiling sheepishly.

“I couldn’t help but notice this poster you put up over there advertising an open position for a barista here?”

_Oh fuck, could it be…_

“And, I’d um…if it's possible, I’d like to apply.”


	3. The Interview

"I'm sorry?"

The handsome stranger kept looking at his feet and shifting uncomfortably, but finally looked up into Jongdae's eyes and took in a deep breath.

"I'd...I'd like to apply for a job here. I'm sorry, I know it's not very professional to ask this way but I'm-"

"Sure."

"Ahh!"

Jongdae and the stranger both turned to find Jongin rubbing his knee which had just smacked into the side of a table, unaware that the reason was because Jongin was so shook by Jongdae's response that his head whipped around as he was walking, causing him to bump into the table.

_What the fuck are you doing?_

Jongdae was officially at war with his brain, and for some reason couldn't care less that he was currently acting as brash and impulsive as a 5-year-old willing to eat sand to get his favourite toy. 

"Oh, really?"

The stranger's eyes lit up, his smile so wide Jongdae was blinded. From the corner of his eye, Jongdae noticed Minseok's head drop and shake, and turned to find Minseok glaring daggers into him. He just knew what his older friend was thinking.

_You utter, utter moron._

"I-I mean, you can have the job but just uhm, just after an interview so that we can see if you're suitable for the role and if you are, then the position's all your's!"

Jongdae rocked back and forth on his feet, clapping his hands and laughing so forcedly and awkwardly that Minseok wanted to just slap him with a fish. 

"Oh oh yes, of course, I'm willing to do it whenever is most convenient."

"Uh..."

Jongdae raised his eyebrows, making an expression of contemplation before glancing at his watch.

"Actually, we could have it now if you can."

In all honesty, Jongdae just wanted to hire the handsome man as soon as possible.

_Was he being irrational?_

_Yes._

_Was he being unprofessional and reckless?_

_Indeed._

_Did he give a single fuck because this man was just too perfect that he wanted to cry?_

_Hell no._

Jongdae didn't even have to look at Minseok to know he was giving him the most disappointed, disapproving look.

_Whatever._

_Jongdae was a good man who believed in giving people a shot._

_He was practically Mother Theresa._

"Oh, now? Oh, yes, yes sure now's good."

With that, the shook but enthusiastic stranger and Jongdae proceeded into Jongdae's office for what Minseok knew was going to be the catalyst of the downfall of the Milky Way. 

* * *

"Kim Junmyeon."

Jongdae nodded as he wrote down the name on a paper he had grabbed and titled "Application of ~~Mr Perfect~~ Kim Junmyeon"

"Okay, so uhm, why don't you tell me about yourself then Junmyeon."

Jongdae sat back, assuming the stance of an employer judging an applicant when internally he was just admiring how clear Junmyeon's skin was.

_Must be so soft..._

_Like marshmallows._

_Marshmallow cheeks that I just wanna chew on and- FUCK. STOP IT JONGDAE._

"Right, I'm 26 years old, I've lived in Seoul my whole life. I uhm...I love coffee! Haha, uh..."

Junmyeon chuckled but then went quiet, wringing his hands on the table as he seemed to go into deep thought. 

Jongdae was never really good at filling in awkward silences. He knew as an employer interviewing a candidate, he should say something. But for some reason, Jongdae remained quiet, waiting for Junmyeon to speak whenever he was ready. He noticed a nerve protruding on Junmyeon's shiny forehead from his intense frown, and for a second his chest clenched as he realised Junmyeon seemed to be a very troubled person. 

Finally after a few seconds of silence, Junmyeon sighed and looked up.

"Truth is, I've never worked in a cafe before. I don't know how to operate a coffee machine, heck I'm not even good at making my own coffee. I've never served customers and I've never worked at a cash register. I have no experience whatsoever."

_Wow._

If there was one thing Jongdae had learnt about Junmyeon so far, it was that he really sucked at job interviews.

"But..."

Junmyeon bit his lip, and Jongdae moved forward in his chair slightly, anticipating the rest of his sentence.

"What I do have is an intense passion to do my best in whatever I do. I'm a very hard worker and I'd like to think I'm a pretty fast learner as well. I'm very enthusiastic and willing to commit 100% to whatever responsibility I am given. I may not know anything, and I may not be good, but I can promise that I would work endlessly to make sure whatever results I produce are of quality and don't disappoint. I'm not the best by any means, but if there's one thing that's for sure about me, it's that I give my best in every single thing I do."

_Oh fuck._

Jongdae didn't know if the chill that went down his spine was from how effective Junmyeon's speech was, or how cheesy it was.

But it was definitely impressive. 

Jongdae was so caught up in paying attention to Junmyeon's intense speech that he had forgotten to take down a single word. 

Not that it made a difference anyway.

"The reason I'm here..."

_Oh shit there's more._

"Is because, well, honestly I just really need a job. I've grown up my whole life being told what to do, how I'm supposed to live, what my future is going to be. And today I just...I decided I didn't want to be told anymore. I want to stand on my own two feet, and do a job that I found, not a job I was given. I know the right thing to say in my position would be that I have a passion for this job or that I'm good at it, but I would be lying if I said that. The truth is, I just need a job. And today happened to be a day where I came to a cafe which had a position available. So, I really do hope you consider me for this position, not for any skills I may possess, but because I know how hard I work for something I really want or need."

Jongdae shook his head in amusement, while Junmyeon caught his breath from his verbal diarrhoea. 

"You know...you're really bad at job interviews."

Junmyeon nodded, arching a brow and looking around.

"Yeah I uh- I just realised that."

"You've given me 100 reasons to not hire you."

Junmyeon nodded again, rubbing the back of his neck _(a habit, Jongdae assumed, whenever he got sheepish or nervous)_

"Yeah, I don't know, just figured it's better to be honest than sell myself as something I'm not."

As Junmyeon dropped his head and braced himself for the inevitable rejection, Jongdae decided to actually put aside his attraction and consider Junmyeon as a serious prospect for the cafe. 

After contemplating for a while, Jongdae made up his mind and took in a deep breath, praying that his next 2 words were not going to end up being his demise.  

"You're hired."

 


	4. F*ck Public Holidays

If there was one thing in the world Jongdae hated more than anything else, it was a bad cup of coffee. 

Coffee to Jongdae was like oxygen, he couldn't live without it. If he didn't get it at least once a day, he felt suffocated. 

Part of the reason Jongdae set up Milky Way in the first place was because he was tired of walking into different cafes and trying awful coffee when he knew he could make them perfectly. Kyungsoo and Minseok were not as passionate as he was, but they recognised his talent and decided to learn from him and help him with the cafe. Then came along Jongin, who knew nothing about coffee but was a fast learner and was pretty good at baking as well. Teaching Jongin was a bit harder than teaching Minseok and Kyungsoo, but within a few days Jongin had already gotten the hang of it. After those 3 students, Jongdae reckoned he was a pretty good teacher when it came to imparting his skills and knowledge. 

But then came Junmyeon.

It had barely been a week since he had started, but Jongdae had never felt more frustrated in his life. He used to drink coffee because he loved it, now he was downing cups to keep his sanity. 

On the first day, while learning how to operate the coffee machine, Junmyeon had somehow managed to not only spoil the machine, but break 2 cups and burn Jongin's hand as well.

On the second day, Jongdae had tried showing Junmyeon how to make a cup of coffee without the machine, and he ended up spitting out Junmyeon's attempt all over Minseok.

On the third day, Junmyeon had tried to operate the coffee machine again _(he had walked into the cafe rambling about how he stayed up all night reading coffee for dummies)_. This time he didn't break anything, but instead produced a cup of coffee that ended up just being coffee powder floating on water _(Minseok affectionately called it Bean Water)_

On the fourth day, Jongdae decided to let Junmyeon try to handle the desserts instead and asked him to make a cupcake. Jongin cried. 

It was the fifth day, and Jongdae was currently downing his fourth cup of coffee of the day as he leaned over his desk, tallying up expenses. 

"Jongdae-yah!"

The exasperated young man looked up to find Kyungsoo walk through his office door with a smile on his face, his face sightly thinner than when he had last seen him.

"Oh, hey man, what's up? What brings you here?"

Jongdae tried to sound normal and chirpy, but his blood-shot eyes and frazzled hair was not really helping his case. Kyungsoo frowned and looked outside the office into the cafe. 

Milky Way was packed, with the whole place bustling and a long queue at the counter. It was nothing out of the ordinary for Milky Way to have a lot of customers on a day like this, which made Kyungsoo wonder even more why Jongdae looked like he was currently nursing 150 chimpanzees. 

"I heard you hired a new guy, so I came to check out how it's going. And I think I already have my answer..."

As Kyungsoo trailed off, noticing Jongdae pinching the bridge of his noise, a clatter of glass rang behind him. Turning around, Kyungsoo spotted a handsome young man slightly taller than him with a serving apron on, balancing 2 trays of drinks with a piece of paper in his mouth. 

"Is that...the new guy?"

Jongdae sighed as Kyungsoo watched the man attempt to balance the 2 trays on his arm and take out the paper from his mouth to ask a couple of seated customers if they had ordered 2 lattes. Kyungsoo cringed from second-hand embarrassment as the customers looked at the new guy in bewilderment, before looking back down at their table which very clearly already had 2 drinks. The young man smiled sheepishly and waddled away awkwardly with his 2 dangerously balanced trays. 

"Yup, that's the new guy."

Kyungsoo turned back to Jongdae with crinkled eyebrows, making the latter laugh sheepishly with a shrug of his shoulders. 

"Jongdae..."

"He's only been here a few days, he'll take time, he's learning."

"Jongdae."

Kyungsoo's voice was firm and low, but even amongst all the buzz of the cafe, his tone of disappointment was loud and clear. Jongdae gulped and rubbed the back of his neck, looking everywhere but at Kyungsoo's piercing gaze.

"Kim Jongdae, please don't tell me you hired a guy just because you were attracted to him."

"Oh, uh, Jongin! We need a fresh batch of danish pastries, go make them, I'll take over the machine." Jongdae shouted and whizzed past Kyungsoo towards Jongin. Confusion filled Jongin's expression as he glanced at the dessert display which already had a whole batch of danish pastries. 

"He's doing it again." Kyungsoo sighed and shook his head, watching Jongdae trying to convince a very befuddled Jongin that they indeed needed more danish pastries. 

* * *

"Hey," 

Junmyeon looked up from placing 3 plates of pastries on his tray to find a young man with intense eyes but a soft smile before him, tying a serving apron around his waist. 

"Uh, hello?"

Kyungsoo grabbed the tray Junmyeon was holding with a smirk.

"I'm Kyungsoo, the guy who's saving you today."

With that, Kyungsoo took the tray and confidently strode to Table 5, serving the 2 young girls with a gentle smile and leaving a speechless Junmyeon behind. 

Junmyeon headed over to the counter where Minseok was cashing in an old man's order.

"Um, sorry to bother you but, who's that?"

Minseok followed Junmyeon's pointed finger to find Kyungsoo clearing up the drinks of a group of students. 

"Ah, that's Kyungsoo, he worked here before you came along. Oh thank god he's here to help today."

Junmyeon nodded in understanding and watched as his predecessor worked at the speed of lightning, clearing tables and delivering orders. Next to him at the counter, Minseok was efficiently taking orders and ensuring the queue moved quickly. On his other side at the machines, Jongdae was watching the screen of drink orders and preparing the various concoctions effortlessly, a look of pure focus on his face. Behind him, Jongin was in the kitchen expertly preparing pastries for the oven.

All of a sudden, a pang of sadness hit Junmyeon in the chest as he realised just how useless he was amongst everyone's efficiency and skill in the cafe. Standing there, empty-handed with nothing to do and nothing to contribute, Junmyeon looked down as he felt tears prick his eyes. 

_He hated this feeling._

_He hated himself._

With clenched fists, Junmyeon swallowed thickly as he tried to get control over his emotions. 

_Keep it together._

"Hey,"

A sudden smack on his shoulder shook him out of his emotional state as he found Jongdae staring at him in concern.

"You alright? Why're you just standing around?"

As Junmyeon wracked his brain to come up with an answer other than "I'm so fucking useless, you should've never hired me", the front door's chimes rang, and the two turned to find a large group of office workers enter the cafe.

"Fucking hell, I hate public holidays." Jongdae muttered under his breath.

"Ok, listen, Minseok, I need you to help with delivering the orders. Jongin, come out, you need to help me with making the drinks." Jongdae announced like a general giving orders, and Jongin and Minseok immediately followed. 

"Junmyeon,"

Jongdae turned to Junmyeon and Junmyeon saw it clear in his eyes.

_Worry._

_Jongdae was going to give Junmyeon something to do, but he was worried he would mess it up._

Seeing that look made Junmyeon's chest constrict, not with sadness, but with determination. 

He had decided he never wanted Jongdae to look at him like that again. He was tired of seeing it for the past 5 days. 

Jongdae had given him a chance when no one else would, and Junmyeon was going to make sure it was not in vain. 

"I need you to handle the cash registers and orders. We have an advanced software in place so it shouldn't be a pro-"

"Got it."

Junmyeon immediately positioned himself at the till, leaving Jongdae slightly taken aback at his sudden change in emotion. 

"Are you sure you know-"

"Don't worry, I watched Minseok a lot so I can handle this."

Junmyeon had turned back to reassure Jongdae, and just before he turned back around to the till machine, he caught a small smile on Jongdae's lips as the latter walked back to the machines, which boosted his confidence tenfold. 

"Hi there, welcome to Milky Way, what would you like today?"

Junmyeon offered a large smile to the young customer, who was currently scanning the menu with hawk eyes. He was clad in a smart business suit, jet-black hair stylishly gelled and smelling of peppermint cologne. Junmyeon could tell he was younger than him, yet he looked like some sort of CEO who ran 5 companies. 

"Hi, oh you're new aren't you? I haven't seen you around here before." 

_Crap, a regular customer, which meant expectations to live up to._

"Oh yes, I joined recently. It seems you've been here before, are you familiar with our menu then? We have a recently added special which is-"

"Yeah yeah, I saw the special. But I'm more interested in you. You're very handsome."

As the customer folded his arms and looked Junmyeon up and down, the latter felt a blush creep up his neck and awkwardly cleared his throat. 

"T-Thank you. I'm sorry but there's a long queue of customers behind you, so it would really be appreciated if you could-"

"Give my order? Yes of course, sorry to hold up the queue. Yes, I would like one small **i** ced, sugar-free, vanilla latte with soy milk, two large half-caff soy latte At 115 degrees, one medium iced skinny hazelnut macchiato with sugar-free syrup, extra shot, light ice, no whip and finally, uhh... 2 slices of your caramel cheesecake."

Junmyeon was lost at half-caff, and just looked bug-eyed at the young customer, who had his hands shoved in his pockets with a cheeky smirk on his face. 

"I'm...uh....I'm sorry but would you mind repeating that again, please?"

The customer crinkled his brows, an offended expression appearing on his face which made Junmyeon gulp nervously.

"Repeat? You mean you couldn't get it the first time around? I even said it slowly. Wow, this place really is dropping in standards."

Red alarms were going off everywhere around Junmyeon as he immediately and rather violently shook his head.

"No no! Don't worry, I got it...uh it was, one small iced, sugar-free vanilla latte with...uh..."

"God I don't have time for this. Wow, clearly Jongdae only hired you for your face."

Junmyeon was on the verge of having a panic attack.

_Wait..._

_He knew Jongdae?_

A panicked and confused Junmyeon was suddenly pulled back by his shoulder before he found the man in question standing in front of him, facing the young customer who was now smirking even wider. 

"What do you want, Baekhyun?" 

 

 


	5. Toben

Baekhyun broke out into a huge smile upon seeing Jongdae, making the latter clench his jaw in annoyance. 

"Jongdae! It's been so long. I-" 

"What do you want?" 

Jongdae irritatedly cut off Baekhyun, clearly displaying that he wasn't going to play along with Baekhyun's friendly charades. 

Baekhyun pursed his lips and nodded understandingly, looking down at his shoes for a second before looking back at Jongdae, except now with sadness in his eyes. 

"You'll never forgive me, will you?"

"There's a lot of customers waiting-"

"It's been 3 years Jo-"

"If you're not going to tell me what you want, I'm afraid I'm going to have to ask you to step out of the queue."

Jongdae never talked to a customer in such a manner before, and while his voice was low enough for the other people in the queue to not hear, it was still loud enough for Junmyeon to detect the anger in it as he stood behind him. Jongin had just finished up in the kitchen and came out to find the confrontation happening.

"Oh! Baekhyun Hyung, what're you-"

"Hi Jongin. Don't worry, I was just leaving."

Baekhyun forced out a smile at the puzzled Jongin before looking back at Jongdae. Junmyeon couldn't see the stoic expression on Jongdae's face, but he did glance down to find Jongdae's fists clenched, the veins in his arms protruding. In front of him, Baekhyun let out a sigh as he looked behind Jongdae at Junmyeon. There was a certain knowing look in his eyes which put Junmyeon off a bit, but his glance was too quick to call anything.

"Bye Jongdae."

With that, Baekhyun turned and left, making some of the patrons in the queue break out into hushed questions of why he left empty-handed after so much time. 

Junmyeon saw Jongdae's shoulders visibly loosen up as the latter let out a breath. Turning around, Jongdae put on a constricted smile and pat Junmyeon on the shoulder.

"Just forget about that. Carry on."

Junmyeon nodded immediately and obediently, though his mind still a frenzy of questions, and stepped back up to the register as Jongdae retreated to his office. 

The next few orders were simple enough for Junmyeon to handle, which meant his mind could still afford to whirl around what had just taken place. Clearly something had happened between Jongdae and this guy Baekhyun. Something bad enough for Jongdae to still hold a grudge after years. 

Junmyeon didn't even know why he was so bothered by it when it didn't involve him at all. Perhaps it was just the gossip-trash side of him that was so curious about finding out what had happened. 

But more so, it was perhaps because of the side of Jongdae that Junmyeon saw for the first time.

_And didn't really want to see again._

* * *

 

"Jongdae!! My man, my little coffee maestro, the Jong to the Dae! Jong-Americano-loving-Dae!"

"WHAT CHANYEOL? WHAT?"

Chanyeol pouted as Jongdae snapped at him, but his stupid smile immediately returned 2 seconds later as Jongdae continued to set up the cash register.

"It's not even opening time Chanyeol, the others haven't even arrived yet. What the fuck do you want so early?"

The large man smiled sheepishly and looked down, making Jongdae follow his line of sight to the little object in Chanyeol's hands that was so small compared to his gigantic body (and camouflaged into this dark shirt) that Jongdae didn't even notice it when he came in.

"Oh no..."

"Please! Kyungsoo has to work and I have to take on an extra shift and none of my family or other friends are free as well. Please, you're the only person I have left."

"What about your neighbours?"

Channel gasped, holding the ball of fur in his hands even closer to him.

"Those devils? Never! I'm a Christian, Jongdae."

"For the last time, just because they like country music, does NOT mean they're SATAN WORSHIPPERS."

"THEY LISTEN TO THE FUCKING RASCAL FLATTS. IF THAT'S NOT DEMONIC, I DON'T KNOW WHAT IS."

Jongdae sighed and scratched his eyebrow, wondering why Kyungsoo couldn't pick anyone else to fall in love with.

"Please? I promise, he's really good. He won't be any trouble. Pretty please Jongdae?"

Jongdae glanced down at the ball of jet-black fur in Chanyeol's freakishly-large hands. It was fucking adorable.

 _Shit_.

"Alright. I'll keep him in the office. But I swear to god, if he does anyth-"

"He won't! I've trained him well, don't worry. Oh thank you so much, you're god-sent!"

Channel practically skipped to Jongdae's office as Jongdae followed behind with slumped shoulders. Sometimes he wondered if God chose him specifically to just constantly be tested. He was going to have some serious words with him up there if that was the case. 

Chanyeol placed the tiny creature in his carrier atop of Jongdae's desk, but not before kissing it about 124 times. 

"Ok Tobennie, Daddy has to go now. You know I love you right? I love you so much, my little angel."

Jongdae would have rolled his eyes at Chanyeol's sickening affection, but even he had to admit it was rather sweet to see how much Chanyeol doted on Toben. It was times like this was when Jongdae was reminded why and how Kyungsoo fell in love with the big buffoon. 

Chanyeol thanked Jongdae once more before finally leaving, allowing the cafe-owner to get back to preparing for opening. A few minutes later, the others arrived as well.  

It had been a couple of days since the Bae*h*un incident, which Jongdae forced himself to just consider as something that never happened. Junmyeon was getting better at the cash register job, he seemed to have a knack for numbers. Jongdae was so relieved that they had finally found something that he could do, though it wasn't going to be enough for him to just handle the cash register as having such little staff meant everyone still had to know how to serve and make drinks. 

_Still, at least it was a start._

Plus, Junmyeon was still practicing hard and pushing himself. He was making progress little by little, which pleased Jongdae sufficiently. 

_It meant Jongdae could focus more on helping Junmyeon to hone his skills, rather than thinking of how badly he just wanted to kiss the man every time he was around him._

"Aaaaaaaaaah!"

Jongdae jumped as he heard the most excited squeal to ever erupt from Jongin's mouth.

Jongin came running out of Jongdae's office, holding Toben close to his chest as he looked at everyone with a face of pure joy.

"He's so cute! Tobennie-ah..." Jongin whined as if he was going to cry, looking down and stroking the tiny head of the tiny canine. 

Junmyeon gasped and ran to Jongin's side, stroking Toben's cheek softly as well and cooing as the little puppy licked his finger.

_Junmyeon and Jongin cooing over a puppy._

_Lord give Jongdae the strength to not spontaneously combust from how fucking adorable this sight was._

"Alright alright, I know, he's really cute. We're helping Chanyeol take care of Toben today. But we still have a cafe to run so let's put Toben back now, alright?"

Minseok was smiling amusedly at the 2 puppy-lovers as he set up the chairs for the tables, and Jongdae was glad for the first time in his life that Minseok was more of a cat person, as that meant one less lovestruck fool to deal with. 

Jongin pouted but nodded nonetheless, heading back to the office slowly as he continued softly scratching the neck of Toben.

"Ahhh, what to do Tobennie? We have to work now, I'm so sorry..."

Junmyeon had the softest smile on his face as he watched the puppy look around innocently as Jongin carried him back to the office, meaning Jongdae had the softest smile on his face as he watched Junmyeon. 

 _Fuck_. 

Jongdae forced himself to peel his eyes away from the ball of sunshine that was Kim Junmyeon and focused his mind back on setting up the coffee machines. 

_Did he have to be so cute? For fuck's sake..._

* * *

 

"TOBEN! BAD DOG!"

Jongdae groaned in frustration as the mischievous puppy continued peeing all over the accounts of the cafe's supplies. Quickly picking it up and setting it down on the floor, Jongdae let out another exasperated whine as he gathered his soaked papers. 

"Jongin-ah! Get in here!"

Jongdae was too stressed at the moment to even realise that the little ball of terror had escaped from his office and bounced into the cafe, about to stray off towards a customer's table had it not been for Junmyeon's quick eyes who caught him and quickly picked him up from the side of the cash register. 

Unfortunately, he happened to be in the middle of taking someone's order.

"Oh. My. God. What a precious little puppy!" The young school-girl cooed as Junmyeon held Toben to his chest with one hand and keyed in her order with the other. 

"Uh, yeah, Milky Way's favourite pet, haha. Alright, so that's one blueberry muffin and-"

From behind, Junmyeon could make out the faint, irate voice of Jongdae asking Jongin why he didn't "close the fucking carrier", and Junmyeon could only pray the customers in front of him didn't hear it like he did. 

Toben was getting restless in his hands, making Junmyeon laugh awkwardly.

"One moment please."

Junmyeon quickly turned and put Toben down, pushing him to run into the office, and turned back to the customer to finally complete the order, even though she was still distracted by the fluffy ball behind him. 

"What's his name?"

"Toben. Alright, total will be 7000 won please."

As the girl paid, she suddenly cooed again and looked down behind Junmyeon, making the latter turn around to find that unmistakable ball of fluff running out of the office, with a bent-over Jongin running behind him.

"Toben! Get back here!"

Junmyeon let out a nervous laugh again, taking the cash from the girl's hand which made her turn back to him. 

"Please wait at the side for your order."

* * *

 

"Jongin, you caused this mess, so you take care of Toben."

Jongdae's words rang in Jongin's mind as he bent down discreetly to look under the tables of the cafe. There weren't many people, thankfully, and the ones who were there were too engrossed in their own conversations to notice a little puppy on the loose. Toben was really quiet as well, which could've been a good thing had it not been for the fact that it didn't really help when Jongin was trying to look for him now. 

_Fuck, what if he got outside?_

Jongin scratched the back of his head in frustration as he glanced outside the cafe, immediately noticing the street with numerous vehicles speeding by.

_FUCK._

Just as he was about to dash out of the cafe, there was a tap on his shoulder which made him turn around. 

"Excuse me, I believe this is what you're looking for?"

In front of Jongin stood a tall man, with the broadest shoulders he had ever seen and thin, round glasses perched on his nose. He was clad in a simple black top with jeans, and in his hands was, much to Jongin's relief, a little black poodle. 

"Oh god, Toben!"

Jongin held Toben close to him as the stranger passed him over, his heart swelling in relief as Toben looked up at him with his giant, glistening eyes. 

"Thank god you're not road-mush, thank you so much...uh.."

The stranger smiled and stuck out a hand, making Jongin's heart do an odd little leap as he spoke.

"Sehun."

* * *

 

A/N: Hi guys, I'm so sorry for the hiatus, I was just busy with summer things and stuff (life got in the way) but I'm back and I promise to update much more frequently and regularly! Thanks to those who are still sticking around, your support means a lot to me :) 

 


	6. The Painting

"Hyung! Could you come over and give me a hand with this?" 

Junmyeon walked out of the kitchen, where he was opening a new sack of coffee beans, to find Jongin waddling over to the side wall of the cafe with an enormous frame. It came up to just below his shoulders and was twice as broad as he was. The frame looked like mahogany, but what was on the other side was still unknown to Junmyeon.

"Whoa, what's this?"

"Jongdae Hyung ordered a new painting for the cafe. He wanted to change the place up a bit. He told me it was coming in today."

Junmyeon immediately ran over to help a struggling Jongin squeeze himself and the frame between the tables and chairs. Jongdae and Minseok were currently out running errands (something also to do with revamping the cafe), which left Junmyeon and Jongin to open the cafe themselves. Luckily, it was a Sunday which meant the cafe only opened at 11am, giving them more time to set things up. 

"I already put the hooks in place, we just have to fit it up there."

Junmyeon was still on the other side of the painting, meaning he had no idea what it was. The curiosity was killing him. He imagined it was probably some city landscape, or an abstract nature piece. Junmyeon thought of Jongdae to have that kind of taste- sophisticated and classy but at the same time fresh and vibrant. 

As the 2 carefully pivoted the gigantic frame, a question struck Junmyeon.

"Why're we installing this ourselves? Shouldn't the delivery people do this?"

"Budget issues." Jongin replied with a small frown, making Junmyeon remember that installation usually came with an extra charge. 

"Still, he's spending so much on a painting, but not the little extra on the installation fee?"

"I guess he trusted us enough. I mean why pay someone else to do it when there are 2 perfectly strong men right here." Jongin chuckled, making Junmyeon smile and nod in agreement. 

As the 2 finally hung up the enormous art piece (after several minutes of heavy-lifting, mounting the booth against the wall and panting), Junmyeon took several steps back to examine the newest addition to Milky Way.

_What._

_The._

_Fuck???_

"Uhhhh..."

Junmyeon turned to a puzzled Jongin, who was looking at the painting intensely as he chewed on his lower lip. His folded arms and overall stance was a clear indication that he was in deep contemplation.

"Jongin-ah..."

Before Junmyeon could complete what was going to be a string of baffled questions, the bell of the front door rang.

"Hey guys, did the- OH MY GOD."

Junmyeon and Jongin both turned to find a bewildered Jongdae and a stunned Minseok at the entrance of the cafe. Both were gaping at the side wall where the art piece hung, their eyes so wide one would think they didn't have eyelids. 

"WHY ARE THERE BOOBS HANGING ON MY WALL?"

Junmyeon heard a small gasp from beside him and turned to find Jongin with his mouth agape as well, though a look of realisation on his face rather than shock.

"Ahhh, so there _was_ something wrong."

Jongdae slowly walked up to them, his eyes never once moving away from the sight of a pair of very realistic breasts hanging on the wall. Minseok followed behind, now no longer in shock but rather, his fist over his mouth as he tried his best to stifle his laugh. He couldn't help it though, bursting out hysterically as Jongdae stood frozen in front of the portrait, in utter stupor. 

"I'm so sorry Hyung, I thought-"

"Jongin, how the FUCK did you think I would order a pair of breasts to be hung on our wall?"

"I don't know, I thought you were just trying to be edgy or something. I don't know anything about art! I did find it weird though..." Jongin whined and scratched the back of his head, looking deeply sheepish and upset with the most intense pout Junmyeon had ever seen. It was sad, but also really cute. 

Jongdae sighed heavily and began rolling up his sleeves.

"We gotta take this down asap and call the store. Clearly there's been a mixup. But I will NOT have boobs be the attraction of my cafe." 

Jongin was wringing his hands nervously, his face in such an intense knot of emotions that Junmyeon was concerned he was almost going to cry.

"I'm really sorry Hyung, I really-"

"No, it's alright. I should've told you what the painting was so there was no confusion. But next time if you're unsure about something, just call me okay?"

Jongin nodded profusely, before taking a few steps forward to help Jongdae take down the painting.

"No no, it's fine. I got this. You guys go continue setting up."

"Hyu-"

"It's alright Jongin, really. Go, I want a fresh batch of pastries in the display window pronto."

Jongin was about to argue but bit his lip instead and just nodded once again, quickly scurrying off to the kitchen. Junmyeon watched Jongdae, a fuzzy sensation overwhelming him as he realised just how sweet Jongdae was. Minseok was still laughing silently at the side, his head turned as he examined the raunchy portrait even closer. Once again he laughed out loud, making both Jongdae and Junmyeon turn to him.

"Shut the fuck up, Minseok. Go help Jongin." Jongdae rolled his eyes as he got up on the booth.

Minseok held up his hands defensively and walked off, his laughing smile still wide as ever. 

That just left Junmyeon and Jongdae.

"Well? That counter is not going to clean itself, you know."

Junmyeon quirked a brow at Jongdae, who was unhooking the back of the frame as he spoke to him. Being the person who had just nearly broken his back in half trying to install the painting, Junmyeon knew there was no way Jongdae was going to be able to handle it himself. 

"You need help." 

Junmyeon hopped onto the booth as well, supporting the painting from the other side as he helped to unhook the frame. Jongdae glanced over at him and mocked a gasp.

"Are you saying I'm that weak? I am offended."

At his reply, Junmyeon couldn't help but look back and notice Jongdae's biceps through his white, long-sleeved shirt. The bulging outline was clear enough to show that Jongdae was anything but weak. Junmyeon gulped, realising just what he was doing and quickly turning back to the frame.

 _Fuck_.

Junmyeon could only pray Jongdae didn't notice him kind of ogling at his arms. However, the fact that Jongdae turned to him the minute he looked away made him pretty worried that he did, in fact, catch him red-handed. 

_Crap, ok, say something, quick. Make a joke._

"Hi offended, I'm Junmyeon."

Jongdae immediately let out a shouting laugh, gaping at him with amused eyes and an even more amused smile.

"Wha-what!? Did you just say what I think you said? Oh man... oh don't ever do that again, please!"

Junmyeon laughed as well at how Jongdae received his joke. There was something about Jongdae's laugh that caused Junmyeon to not be able to stop smiling. It was not like he hadn't heard him laugh like this before, with a kind of booming vibrato that made him think he'd do really well as an opera singer. But it was more so the fact that Jongdae was laughing at something he had said which caused Junmyeon to smile particularly wide this time. 

"I am standing by that joke unapologetically." 

After removing all the hooks, both of them slowly lowered the frame, mindful of the wooden table of the booth beneath them and how nasty a chip on it would look. 

"Slowly, slowly..." Jongdae chanted as Junmyeon held the bottom half and gingerly carried it over the booth, stepping down and gripping the frame tightly. As the 2 carried the frame daintily over to the back-end of the cafe where Jongdae's office was, they passed by the kitchen where Jongin was inside, meticulously piping frosting onto some cupcakes. 

Jongdae glanced at him and smiled, shaking his head. They entered his office and set the frame down gently beside his desk where there was just about enough space so that it didn't jut out of the room. 

"Oh Jongin...that kid cracks me up." Jongdae sighed and folded his arms, looking down at the painting which started to look more and more like googly-eyes to Junmyeon, meaning he couldn't bring himself to look at it anymore without laughing out loud. 

"You know...that was really nice of you to tell him it was alright. Other people would've yelled, or even fired him." Junmyeon remarked as he stood besides Jongdae, but looking at the mahogany carvings of the frame instead of the breasty googly eyes. 

From the corner of his eye, he could make out the familiar movement of Jongdae's shoulders which meant he was shrugging.

"He's a good kid. I know it was an innocent mistake. He's still a great asset to the cafe, why would I fire him over something like this? I need him. He's a part of Milky Way." 

Junmyeon remained silent, his gaze now dropped to the floor as he replayed those words in his mind. 

_Indeed, Jongin was an asset._

_Jongin was needed._

_Not much like him..._

Junmyeon wasn't sure whether it was his silence or his Adam's apple bobbing visibly as he swallowed thickly which got Jongdae's attention, but before he knew it, Jongdae's hand was on his shoulder, a warmth that gave him much relief amidst his hurricane of thoughts. 

"All of you are." 

Junmyeon looked up to find Jongdae smiling reassuringly at him, patting him twice on the shoulder softly before turning around and heading back out into the cafe. 

Taking in a deep breath and placing his hand over his chest, Junmyeon willed his racing heart to calm down as he realised what was happening. 

_Boy, was he screwed..._

 


	7. Pringles and Strawberries

It had been a month since Junmyeon joined Milky Way. 

Jongdae didn't even realise time had gone by that fast. Junmyeon could barely pour a cup of coffee when he had first joined, now he was relatively good at making lattes and cappuccinos. Jongdae even dared to say he was actually good at it. There was no doubt Junmyeon spent every waking moment of the past 25 days trying to improve himself. Whenever it was time to lock up, Junmyeon would beg for an extra hour or two so he could practice more. He even spent his own money on ingredients so as to not exhaust the cafes'. 

_He was truly something special._

And with every passing day, Jongdae fell more and more in love with him.

"And then finally, a swish in the foam to make a heart, like....that!"

Junmyeon beamed at his little coffee heart, looking up at Jongdae with twinkling eyes. Milky Way was already closed, and Minseok and Jongin were clearing up. Junmyeon had just perfected his macchiato-brewing skills and was bursting with eagerness to show Jongdae. 

_How could he decline?_

"Great! That looks wonderful. Now let's see if it tastes as good as it looks."

Junmyeon held his breath and wrung his hands as Jongdae picked up the cup and slowly sipped on Junmyeon's little creation. Letting the taste settle on his buds for a moment, Jongdae judged the balance of flavours and the consistency of the coffee before finally coming to a verdict.

"Ahhh..."

Junmyeon immediately frowned, looking down at the macchiato in worry as Jongdae just let out an ambiguous sigh without saying anything else. Upon seeing this, Jongdae laughed at how sincere Junmyeon was (and fuck was he hot as well when he made that kind of worried expression), and set down the cup.

"It's perfect."

Junmyeon broke out into the hugest grin ever, laughing in relief.

"Really? Oh that's gre-"

Jongdae raised his brows as Junmyeon suddenly froze and looked at him.

"What?"

"You have a bit of...uhm-"

Suddenly, before Jongdae even realised what was happening, Junmyeon's thumb was brushing across his top lip. 

"You had a bit of foam there."

_Fuck._

Jongdae could have collapsed right there and then, and he was pretty sure his heart had stopped working altogether. Junmyeon laughed awkwardly, or maybe nervously, or maybe even in amusement. Jongdae didn't know, his mind was too busy screaming into oblivion. He knew he was just standing there like a gaping idiot, but for some reason he just couldn't bring himself to move. 

_Ok, he was going to look ridiculous now._

_MOVE, GODDAMMIT._

"HAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHA!"

Junmyeon jumped back with wide eyes as Jongdae suddenly burst into the most bombastic laughter he had ever produced. The look of slight terror in Junmyeon's eyes hinted to Jongdae that he was perhaps being a bit too intense, and quickly toned down the hysteria. 

_Great, now he just looked insane._

"W-was the foam that funny?"

Junmyeon was still leaning back a bit, and Jongdae was pretty sure he was on the verge of running away and never returning. Jongdae rubbed the back of his neck, looking down at his feet and wishing the ground would swallow him instantly. 

"I just...pictured myself with a foam moustache and...it was uh...pretty hilarious. Hence the...uh...laughter. Haha."

If there was a curse of coming up with the worst cover-ups ever, Jongdae was pretty sure he had it. Somehow he had managed to keep Junmyeon around for 25 days and not have him call the asylum or the police, but now he may have just screwed it all up.

Jongdae didn't know what he expected as a reply from Junmyeon, but a chuckle was definitely at the bottom of the list. 

"You're right. That's a pretty funny picture."

_Oh shit._

_He bought it????_

Jongdae snapped back up to find Junmyeon shaking his head and giggling (?) to himself.

"Are you...are you just imagining me with a foam moustache now?" 

"You know the Pringles guy?"

"HEY."

Junmyeon laughed out loud once more, shaking his head as Jongdae playfully glared at him. Picking up the cup of macchiato, he walked away, smile still plastered on his face as he continued imagining Jongdae with a foamy Mr. Pringles moustache. 

As Junmyeon headed into the kitchen, Jongdae leaned against the counter on his elbows and sighed. All he could replay in his head was that little touch of Junmyeon on his lip, how his thumb grazed across it so gently. How his eyebrows were slightly knitted, as if he was focusing as he wiped the foam off. How soft his finger felt...

"Yo."

Jongdae jolted in surprise as Minseok appeared, copying his pose as he leant against the counter beside him.

"Geesh, don't sneak up on me like that."

Minseok had a particular smile on his face, with one eyebrow quirked as he just watched Jongdae silently.

Jongdae knew exactly what that look was.

"Oh no, don't you start..."

"When are you going to tell him?" 

"I don't know what y-"

"Oh don't give me that bullshit. I'm not blind. I saw what just happened. I saw what's been happening the past month. How long are you going to let this continue?"

Jongdae clenched his jaw as he held himself back from punching himself in the face. The one thing he hated more than uncontrollable feelings, was people knowing about his uncontrollable feelings. Then again, this was Minseok. The guy knew him better than himself or his own mother, which was quite scary honestly. 

"I'm not-"

Before Jongdae could finish what he was saying, Jongin and Junmyeon came back out, making him immediately go silent.

"We're not done here." Minseok leaned in close to Jongdae and murmured, making Jongdae sigh in frustration.

_Fucking hell._

* * *

The next day, Jongdae found himself replaying Minseoks' words over and over in his head. Even as he perfectly brewed a creamy vanilla latte with extra syrup and cream, his mind was still in a frenzy over the events of the previous day.

_Needless to say, he didn't really sleep peacefully either._

Junmyeon was right next to him, taking the order of a middle-aged woman who couldn't seem to decide between a hazelnut mocha or an iced espresso. The whole day, Jongdae was just a bundle of nerves around him, trying his utmost best to be as normal as possible when really he just felt like a frazzled mess. 

Luckily, Junmyeon didn't really notice anything was off. Jongdae credited his third-grade drama teacher for his excellent acting skills. 

Once the lady finally settled on an Americano (wise choice), Junmyeon cashed in her order and politely asked her to wait at the side, greeting the next customer. 

_Fuck, his voice was so smooth and calming._

It was getting so ridiculous that Jongdae was actually imagining himself falling asleep to "please wait at the side for your order Ma'am, thank you", the grammy-winning single by angel-voice Kim Junmyeon. 

Jongdae scanned the screen for the specifications of the next order, though he already knew what it was as his ears were very much paying attention to whatever Junmyeon was saying. Grabbing an empty cup, Jongdae proceeded to fill it with hot water when a very tall, handsome man approached the counter. 

"Hi, what would you like today?" 

Jongdae couldn't afford to continue looking at the man as he had to keep up his speed, but even from the corner of his eyes, he could make out his slender, long physique.

_This man was really hot, no doubt._

Suddenly, a pang of guilt hit Jongdae just as that thought entered his mind. 

_Of course he wasn't Kim Junmyeon. Junmyeon was hot as well. Junmyeon was perfect. This was definitely not him cheating on his crush? Wait, can you even cheat on someone you're not even with? Is it considered cheating if it's just a thought? FUCK WHERE'S THE LID FOR THE- oh there it is._

Jongdae mentally slapped himself for being so flustered over practically nothing. He was getting distracted from his number one priority- serving the customers as best as possible. Jongdae finally finished up the lady's drink and passed it to her, flashing an apologetic smile.

"Sorry for the slight delay. Please enjoy your drink Ma'am." 

The lady was nice enough to thank him and reassure him that it was no problem, making him relieved to say the least. As he was about to read the screen for the next order, his ears tuned back in to Junmyeon's conversation just in time to catch something rather odd.

"Uh, by the way, is there another barista who works here?"

The screen read 'small iced chocolate', which Jongdae assumed to be the tall man's order as he was the only one at the counter, still in front of Junmyeon. His voice was not as deep as Jongdae thought it would be, which made him believe despite his looming height, the man was pretty young.

"Sehun-ssi?" 

Jongdae turned to find Jongin stepping out of the kitchen, wiping some flour from his hands. 

The sound of an awkward chuckle made Jongdae turn back to the stranger, who had a shy smile on his face as he tugged on his earlobe absent-mindedly. 

"Oh, hi. I was wondering why you weren't here."

Jongin had a small, reserved smile on his face. As Jongdae watched his little (though not-so-little, the man was huge but at the same time a baby, it was a paradox) employee walk up to the counter, Junmyeon turned to aforementioned employee and raised his brows. 

"You know him?"

"Yeah, he's the one who found Toben last time."

"Ahhh..." Jongdae remembered the hellish day that was Toben's Terror, and how Jongin was telling him about Toben running loose in the cafe until some stranger picked him up and returned him to Jongin. 

_So this was that stranger._

"Oh, you really saved my cafe that day, thank you so much!"

Jongdae stepped forward and reached out his hand, shaking Sehun's enthusiastically as the latter just chuckled once more.

"It's alright, it was no problem. I have a puppy myself so I know how difficult they can be."

"You have a puppy too, Sehun-ssi?"

Jongin suddenly interrupted,  his eyes lighting up the moment Sehun had said those words. Junmyeon suddenly cleared his throat, turning to Jongin. 

"Can you take over counter duty for now? I have to use the bathroom real quick."

Jongin looked a bit taken aback by Junmyeon's sudden request, but nodded nonetheless. Just as Junmyeon slipped away , he discreetly turned and flashed Jongdae a knowing smirk, which Jongdae of course understood. 

_Wise, sneaky Junmyeon._

As Jongdae went forth to prepare Sehun's iced chocolate, his sharp ears and sneaky glances still allowed him to observe how Jongin and his new friend interacted. 

"So, you really have a puppy?"

"Yeah, his name's Vivi. He's about a year old."

"Aaaah, that's adorable. I have 3 dogs too, but they're back home with my parents. I don't see them much now because of university. I really miss them."

Jongdae didn't even have to look to know that Jongin was pouting again, he could hear it in his voice. 

"Ah, that sounds tough. Wh-"

"Oh no, look at me getting carried away. I'm so sorry. I'm supposed to ask you if there's anything else you would like with your drink!"

Jongdae bit the side of his cheek as he stifled his laugh, shaking his head slightly. 

_Oh Jongin._

"Uh...I don't really know. What would you recommend is good here?" 

"Oh, try the strawberry tart! It's a new dessert we introduced and it goes really well with iced chocolate!"

Jongdae glanced up to find Sehun smiling like an idiot as he watched Jongin excitedly talk about the tart.

"Oh really? Okay then, one strawberry tart as well please."

"No problemo."

Jongin registered his order, took his payment and handed him his receipt. As he prepared Sehun's tart, Jongdae had just finished his iced chocolate.

"Here you go. I made it extra chocolatey to thank you for that day." Jongdae handed Sehun his drink with a large smile, making the latter grin.

"Extra chocolatey? Fantastic, I love chocolate. Thanks a lot."

"Here's your tart! Oh you're going to love it so much."

Jongin placed Sehun's tart on a tray, while Sehun placed the iced chocolate on it as well. This was the part where the customer usually went away, but Sehun and Jongin instead began an intense discussion about their dogs. Jongdae just watched the 2 youngsters talk brightly with each other and couldn't help but smile as well.  The look in Sehun's eyes was painfully obvious, and the excitement in Jongin's voice was too familiar. He knew just what both of them were feeling as they animatedly talked about puppy-grooming methods. 

_It was exactly what Jongdae felt._

_Every._

_Fucking._

_Day._

 


	8. I Like You

Sehun had been visiting Milky Way almost everyday. It was always at around 3-4 pm, during Jongin's afternoon shift at the cash register. Sehun always asked Jongin to recommend what he'd have, and he'd always pick the seat closest to the counter so that he could converse with him. Jongin had also started grooming his hair, something which didn't go unnoticed by all 3 other employees of the cafe. It was not like Jongin had bad hair before, but it was obvious now there was quite a fair bit of effort going into it. This trend continued for about a week, and it was driving Jongdae crazy. 

"When're you just going to do it?" 

Jongin looked up in confusion as he piped the icing on his cupcakes. Jongdae had his arms folded, more in a motherly way than anything else, and was frowning down at him.

"What're you talking about?"

Jongdae rolled his eyes then raised his eyebrows, giving Jongin a pointed look which unfortunately, was still not understood by the latter. 

"It's so painfully obvious you and Sehun like each other. When're you going to ask him out?"

A deep blush immediately crept into Jongins' cheeks, making him looked down quickly in a fluster. Clearing his throat awkwardly, Jongin continued frosting his cupcakes. 

"Don't be ridiculous. He's just a loyal customer, and happens to be really friendly."

Jongdae placed his hand over Jongin's, stopping him from his piping and forcing him to look up. Jongin gulped, and Jongdae smirked. 

"I wasn't born yesterday y'know. You can't fool any of us. That boy's practically smitten with you, he can't take his eyes off you whenever he's here. I've seen the way he sneaks glances at you when you're not looking."

"Really?"

Jongdae's smirk grew wider as Jongin caught himself reacting with wide, excited eyes. The younger one quickly looked away, gnawing on his lower lip sheepishly. Jongdae chuckled and patted him on the back affectionately. 

"Jongin-ah, just go for it. He's a lot shyer than you, so you should make the first move."

Jongdae could practically see the frenzy of thoughts scrambling in Jongin's head. A wave of empathy over came him as he recognised that precise nervous infatuation that he felt every day. Difference was, Sehun definitely liked Jongin back, hence warranting action. If he couldn't be certain of his happy ending with Junmyeon, he could at least make sure Jongin had his and maybe even experience it vicariously through him. 

"I've never done this before though. What should I do? I can't just outright ask him out, I just can't."

Jongdae glanced down at the cupcakes that Jongin was frosting and a lightbulb went off. 

"I have an idea."

* * *

 

"Hi, welcome to Milky Way. How may I help you today?"

"Do you always have to pretend like you don't know me?"

Sehun chuckled, making Jongin laugh. It was obvious Jongin was nervous, with him pinching his nails and avoiding eye contact. It was obvious to Jongdae at least, and he could only hope it wasn't too obvious to Sehun. 

"Well, you know the drill. What do you recommend today?"

Jongin quickly glanced at Jongdae, who was currently cleaning the counter around the coffee machines. Jongdae gave him a discreet, encouraging nod, conveying all his support in that one gesture.

"Well, uh, we have this new recipe that we just prepared today. Caramel toffee cupcakes! You should try one, they're uh, they're great!" Jongin had the most forced, awkward smile which made Jongdae want to slap him. But nonetheless, Sehun simply nodded with a curious face.

"Ooooh, that sounds good. I'll have that then, and my ice-"

"Iced chocolate, yup, on it my good customer."

Jongdae beamed at Sehun cheekily, making the later laugh and nod in appreciation. As Jongdae prepared the drink he had been making every single day for the past week, he still managed to keep his eye on Jongin, who looked like he was on the verge of a panic attack as he reached into the display window and placed the cupcake on a plate. 

"Here you go, an iced chocolate." 

As Jongdae placed the drink on the tray, he subtly nudged Jongin who was taking his own sweet time cleaning the plate and placing the cupcake on it atop a napkin. Jongdae walked back to the coffee machines, his ears still perked to catch Jongin laughing nervously. 

"Here you go. Enjoy!"

Sehun gave Jongin the warmest smile as he paid, and then glanced down at the little brown dessert in front of him.

_This was it._

Jongdae and Jongin both held their breaths as the special customer noticed the caramel frosting of "I like you" atop his toffee cupcake. Even Jongdae's heart was racing in anticipation, so he could only imagine how Jongin was feeling at the moment. His shaking hands as he placed the cash in the register was an indication that clearly the nervousness had only amplified. 

"Wow, I never knew you guys did words on cupcakes. Is this a new thing or something?" 

Jongin was still unable to bring himself to make eye contact with Sehun, anxiously rubbing the back of his head. Jongdae prayed to every love deity out there that this would not end up being a trainwreck. Sehun must have noticed Jongin's peculiar demeanour as he started to frown when he realised he wasn't getting an answer back.

"Jongin?"

"It's not a new thing or something."

Finally, Jongin had somehow managed to raise his head and look Sehun in the eyes. 

"It's for you. Specially."

Sehun blinked. Then he blinked again and looked back down at the cupcake. Then he blinked back up at Jongin. 

Jongdae, for once, was so glad the cafe wasn't busy today and there was no queue behind Sehun because this was taking an excruciating amount of time.

_Honestly, when were they just going to kiss already?_

Jongin was breathing heavily, as seen from his chest and shoulders, and Jongdae was about to burst from all the tension. Minseok, who was in the kitchen baking tarts with Junmyeon, came back out and stood next to Jongdae.

"What's g-"

"Shhh!"

Minseok looked rather offended by Jongdae's hushed shush, prompting the latter to nod towards Jongin and Sehun. 

"Wow, I uhm, I don't know what to say."

Jongdae gulped, wiping the counter harder than ever as he realised the answer that Sehun finally gave definitely wasn't one that was desired. 

"That spot is clean, why're you-"

"Shhh!"

Jongdae shot Minseok a pointed look and again nodded towards the pair at the cash register. Minseok look befuddled for a moment, but then finally understood what was going on and took a few steps back, discreetly observing the couple as well. 

"You don't have to say anything. I just, wanted you to know."

_Uh oh._

Jongdae could make out how hurt and upset Jongin sounded. His eyes were downcast as well, which meant he was probably fighting back tears. Jongin was the most sensitive person Jongdae knew, and the fact that he may have just caused his heart to shatter made him want to punch himself to a pulp. 

"No, I mean-. It's not like that. I just-, I don't-"

"Please enjoy your order, Sehun-ssi."

Jongin was about to turn away when Sehun reached past the counter and caught his arm, stopping him in his tracks. 

"No! I mean, I like you too. I don't know why I was struggling to say that. Maybe because I'm just really nervous right now and when I get really nervous I can't really talk properly. Plus I never expected you to do something like this so I'm in a lot of shock as well which is why I couldn't say anything because I just really like you a lot but I didn't think you liked me back and, oh god I'm rambling now aren't I?"

Sehun paused to catch his breath, and Jongin was just staring at him with wide, unblinking eyes.

"Y-you like me too?"

Sehun immediately nodded, letting go of Jongin's arm.

"A lot. Like, really a lot."

Jongdae wanted to cry. 

"Look at that. Look at my children." Jongdae whispered emotionally to Minseok as both of them watched Sehun and Jongin break out into the most adorable smiles. Jongdae turned to find Minseok looking at him with pursed lips.

"What?"

"You're an idiot."

With that, he returned to the kitchen. Jongdae pouted for a second at Minseok's words, wondering what warranted that response. But it was only fleeting, for he was back to watching his 2 baby lovebirds giggle with each other and be disgustingly cute.

He was already imagining their wedding. 

* * *

 

"So, what was going on with Sehun and Jongin yesterday? I saw them talk for quite some time at the cash register."

Junmyeon was currently preparing a frappuccino for a customer with Jongdae's help. Minseok was at the counter and Jongin was in the kitchen. Jongin was so excited to go on his first date with Sehun that evening that he literally dashed out of the cafe the minute he was done helping to close up, meaning he didn't really have the chance to tell Junmyeon what had happened. 

"Oh, you didn't know? Jongin confessed to Sehun yesterday, and Sehun did as well. They went on their first date last night."

Junmyeon made a face of understanding, now realising why Jongin came into work that morning like the happiest bunny on steroids. 

"Ohhh. Aww that's amazing. I'm so glad they finally did it. It was too obvious wasn't it?"

"Exactly. Oh, careful with the blending."

Junmyeon nodded obediently and carefully finished up the frappe, giving it one final blend before looking to Jongdae for confirmation.

"Yup, looks good. Great job."

As Jongdae patted him on the back, Junmyeon passed the frappe to the customer with a big grin.

"Enjoy, Ma'am."

"Well well, look at you. Weeks ago you could barely make a small cup of coffee. You've come so far!"

Junmyeon blushed and looked down. Jongdae never failed to send a tingle up his spine whenever he spoke so warmly like that to him. Getting a compliment or praise from Jongdae was like eating the most delicious cup of ice cream, with extra sprinkles and the sweetest cherry. Junmyeon could only think of that equivalence for this kind of happiness and satisfaction. 

"Well, it couldn't have been possible without your mentoring. I owe it all to you."

"Nooo, don't be so humble. You worked so hard, it's all you."

"Sorry to interrupt this battle of niceness, but I need a small iced vanilla latte pals."

The 2 turned to find Minseok giving them a pointed look, with a young lady in front of him just waiting with a small smile.

"Oh gosh, yeah, so sorry. Coming right up."

Junmyeon quickly grabbed a cup and started preparing the drink as Jongdae smiled at him proudly, like a wise wushu master observing their student in action. Once Junmyeon was done with the drink and handed it over to Jongdae for inspection, Jongdae nodded and passed it to the customer, who was smiling coyly at him.

"Thanks a lot."

She shyly pushed a lock of her hair behind her ear, a move very familiar to Junmyeon as he had seen countless other women do before. This young lady was rather attractive with big eyes and clear skin. She also had a small dimple where her lips curved into a small smile, giving her an extra elegant image. Any man would be attracted to her in all honesty. 

_Well, any straight man._

"No problem, enjoy your drink Ma'am."

Jongdae gave his most charming smile, making the young lady blush deeply. 

Junmyeon felt his chest constrict, a sudden realisation dawning upon him as he watched both of them exchange flirtatious smiles. It wasn't just some "look at these 2 idiots" kind of feeling that he was experiencing. It was jealousy. 

Seeing Jongdae smile like that at the young lady made Junmyeon realise a plethora of things, and it was like a snowball effect of understandings and conclusions that made Junmyeon feel like the air around him was suddenly too thin.

_A) He only ever wanted to see Jongdae smile at him like that, which meant-_

_B) He actually loved Jongdae, which explained why he always felt like he was on cloud 9 around him, and finally-_

_C) The way Jongdae was smiling at this lady meant that he was straight, a devastating conclusion which broke Junmyeon's heart._

_Jongdae was fucking straight, and he was in love with him._

_Great._


End file.
